Football: Eagles fall to Pacifica

GARDEN GROVE — The biggest play on offense for the Estancia High football team Thursday night relied on some luck.

Junior quarterback Connor Brown’s pass downfield was deflected by intended receiver Ronnie Urquiza, and senior Dalton O’Daly alertly grabbed it and sprinted into the end zone, completing a 52-yard touchdown pass.

For much of the rest of the game, though, the Eagles did little to create their own luck on offense.

Pacifica dominated in the first half and was able to post a 34-14 nonleague victory at Bolsa Grande High.

Estancia, which had relied on a stellar running game in its season-opening 48-20 win over Loara, found the yards much harder to come by this time.

The Eagles totaled just 23 rushing yards on 18 carries. Estancia Coach Mike Bargas said senior tailback Christian Laurent was limited by a nagging ankle injury and sickness.

“We knew that it was going to be tough for us to run inside,” Bargas said. “They have three 300-pounders inside there [Dallas Hart, Matthew May and Hunter Burleson]. We tried to run the ball outside a little bit, but we just couldn’t get it started in the first half … we played flat.”

Pacifica scored on its first four series of the game to build a 28-7 halftime lead. Junior tailback Tommy Mercurio had the first touchdown run, from two yards out, completing a short six-play drive to open the game after Tirek Benjamin returned the opening kickoff 48 yards.

Estancia went three-and-out, and the lack of receiver/safety/punter Devon Jackson (ankle) hurt the Eagles (1-1). The punt traveled just 19 yards, and Pacifica got the ball back at the Eagles’ 34-yard line.

The hosts’ drive stalled, but they elected to go for it on fourth-and-six at the Estancia 30-yard line. Junior receiver Tirek Benjamin got open near the front left pylon and caught the touchdown pass from Nick Garcia, and Pacifica had a 12-0 lead as the kick again failed.

Not much else would fail on offense throughout the first half for Pacifica (1-1). Mercurio would score on three more short touchdown runs before the game ended, finishing with 75 yards rushing and the four touchdowns.

Mercurio’s last score, with 6:48 remaining in the fourth quarter, gave Pacifica a 34-14 lead to essentially put the game out of reach. The big play on the drive for the Mariners was a 16-yard pass over the middle to tight end Aaron Jacobs, allowing Pacifica to convert a third-and-13 from its own 47-yard line.

“I thought the defense played awesome in the second half,” said Bargas, whose team limited Pacifica to just six points after halftime. “We were still in the football game … they’re a good team. I think our kids played hard, and we stayed healthy. We’ll live to see another day.”

The Eagles figure to have another tough task next week, when they play host to Irvine on Sept. 19 at Jim Scott Stadium.

“That’s going to be a tough game too,” Bargas said. “The most thankful thing I am to God is that we didn’t get anybody injured … We need these tests.”

Bargas said senior middle linebacker/fullback Tyler Thomas did not play after the first quarter Thursday night. He had gotten a couple of immunization shots and was feeling nauseous and dizzy, Bargas said. Thomas, also a key special teams player, is expected to be fine going forward.

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Pacifica 34, Estancia 14

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Estancia 7 – 0 – 7 – 0 — 14

Pacifica 20 – 8 – 0 – 6 —34

FIRST QUARTER

Pac – Mercurio 3 run (kick failed), 9:19.

Pac – Benjamin 30 pass from Garcia (kick failed), 5:40.

Est – O’Daly 52 pass from Brown (Perez kick), 4:34.

Pac – Mercurio 2 run (Mercurio run), 2:02.

SECOND QUARTER

Pac – Mercurio 1 run (Garcia run), 8:42.

THIRD QUARTER

Est – C. Laurent 17 pass from Brown (Perez kick), 0:42.

FOURTH QUARTER

Pac – Mercurio 1 run (pass failed), 6:58.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

Est – D. Laurent, 5-15.

Pac – Mercurio, 15-75, 4 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

Est – Brown, 13-25-0, 135, 2 TDs.

Pac – Garcia, 10-15-0, 127, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

Est – O’Daly, 2-56, 1 TD; Urquiza, 3-45.

Pac – Robinson, 3-44, 1 TD.